Vincent willis



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1. V. WILLIS.

DEVICE 0R MEANS FOR MAKING AND BREAKING ELEGTRIG GIRGUITS.

Patented y 1886.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet-Z.

V. WILLIS. DEVICE 0E MEANS FOR MAKING AND BREAKING ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.No. 342.157. Patented May 18, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VINCENT WILLIS, OF 9 ROCHESTER TERRACE, CAMDEN TOlVN, COUNTY OFMIDDLESEX, ENGLAND.

DEViClZ 0R MEANS FOR MAKING AND BREAKING ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.342,l57, dated May18,1886.

Application filed June 5, 1385. Serial No. 137,721.

(No model.) Patented in England January 10, 1885, No. E19.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT \VILLIs, of 9 Rochester Terrace, CamdenTown, in the county of MiddleseX, England, organ-builder, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Devices or Means for Making andBreaking Electrical Circuits, (for which I have obtained a patent inGreat Britain No. 819, bearing date January 20, 1885, and sealed October6, 1885,) of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an improved mode oi making and breakingelectric circuits, and thereby transmitting electrical impulses to adistance, and to various kinds of apparatus or mechanism from anoperating pistom key, or lever, having a definite, and, it maybe, acomparatively wide range of movement, the object in view being to makethe apparatus or mechanism with which such circuit is connected respondpromptly to each impulse transmitted to it, and to allow it sufficienttime for recovering or resetting itself in readiness for promptlyresponding to another impulse. To attain this end it is necessary thatthe contact shall be effected and the circuit completed so soon as orimmediately after the movement of the operating piston, key, or lever inone direction has begun, and that the contact shall be maintained duringthe completion of the said movement. It is also necessary that theelectrical circuit shall be broken so soon as the reverse movement ofthe key or lever has commenced, and that the circuit shall remain brokenduring the completion of the said reverse movement. Such a mode ofmaking and breaking electrical circuits is capable of many applications,and is especially useful and desirable in connection with appa: ratus ormechanism in which either from convenience to the operator or fromnecessity a key or lever having a definite and sometimes considerablerange of movement is employed to transmit electrical impulses to, and soset in motion or discharge, other mechanism or trains of mechanismrequiring an appreciable time to reset themselves after action, and soto prepare for the repetition of such action, inasmuch as by this newmode of making and breaking electric circuits the contacts are made orbroken by the lever or key at the beginning of its stroke in onedirection or another, and the apparatus or mechanism to which theimpulse has been transmitted has consequently time to respond fullythereto before the completion of the positive movement of theoperating-key, while during the completion of the reverse stroke of thesaid key time is given to the train or mechanism, of whatever kindcontrolled by the electric cir- 6o cult, to recover or reset itself inpreparation for a prompt repetition of its action on the next positivemovement of the operating-key. In order to attain these importantresults I cause the operating key or lever by which the contacts aremade or broken so to shift or act upon one or other of the contact orterminal pieces in the circuit that the said terminal pieces at theconclusion of each stroke or movement of the key or lever shall be putor held in the most advantageous position for promptly breaking ormaking contact at the beginning of the reverse movement of the opcrating-key.

My invention therefore consists in the combination, with an electriccircuit and a key, lever, piston, or equivalent device under the controlof the player or operator for trans mitting electrical impulses alongsuch circuit. of a pair of contact points or surfaces adapted to bebrought togetherand complete the circuit directly the key is moved inone direc tion, and to remain in contact during the completion of thesaid movement of the key, and to be separated to break the said circuitdi- 8 rectly the key is moved in the reverse direction, and toremainseparated during the completion of this reverse movement. Thesliding or yielding contact may be carried on or by the operating leveror key, and the other 0 contact-plate and guide-pins or steps may befixed, in which case a yielding arm upon the operating-lever carryingone terminal plate, and adapted to be held rigid while and until contactis fully established or broken between 5 it and the other terminalpoint, and thereafter to yield to allow of the operating-key continuingits movement throughout its entire range,

may be employed; but I prefer to mount one terminal point or plate inthe form of a springarm rigidly upon the operating key or lever, and toarrange a sliding or rocking piece carrying the other terminal point orplate in such a manner with respect to the said key or lever and thespring-arm thereon, that toward or at the completion ofits movement inone direction or the other the said lever or its springarm shall engagewith the said sliding or rocking piece and shift it and its terminalplate or point into position for at once making or breaking contact atthe beginning of the movement of the key in the reverse direction, thesliding or rocking piece being, as before eX- plained, held motionlessby a suitable spring pressure-pad or friction device during the act ofmaking and breaking contact.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a sectional side view of part of the key-board of aninstrumentsuch as an organ-with my invention adapted thereto. Fig. 2 isa rear end elevation of three keys with their fittings about theiractual size. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional side views, on the same scaleas Fig. 2, of the rear end of a key and its fittings, illustrating thepositions assumed by the parts in two extreme positions of the said key.Fig. 5 is a sectional side view of a similar combination of partsembodying the same principle of action, the yielding contact piece beingmounted to rock instead of to slide; and Fig. 6 is a similar viewillustrating an arrangement embodying my invention, in which thepositions of the contact-surfaces are reversed, the sliding or yieldingcontact-piece being mounted upon or carried by the key and movabletherewith, while the other contactpiece, which is not directly connectedwith the key, is fixed.

The same letters of reference indicate like or corresponding parts inall the figures.

a is the key, or its equivalent, by which the circuit is controlled. Akeysuch as is used in an organ-is shown in Fig. 1, as the invention isof especial value as applied to such instruments when arranged to beoperated by electricity; but it is obvious that the key might be that ofany electrical instrument from which electrical impulses have to betransmitted.

b is a contact-piece mounted on the rear end of the key andin unbrokenelectrical connection with one pole of the battery by a metal pin,c,dipping into atrough of mercury, d,which extends lengthwise of thekey-board. The contact-piece 1) preferably takes the form of a springtongue or arm, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, and is tipped withplatinum or equivalent incorrodible metal, as at b.

e is the other contact-piece, preferably con sisting of a strip of metalwith bent ends or projections e e", which engage with notches a and f inthe key a and the end bar or frame, f, respectively, for a purpose whichwill be hereinafter explained. The contact-piece e is provided with anivory, glass, or equivalent insulating plate or surface, 9, and alsowith a platinum contact-surface, e, as shown best in Figs. 3 and 4.. Thepiecee is free to be moved up and down by the key, and is acted upon bya spring-strut, h, by which it is caused to retain any position to whichit has been moved until again shifted by a fresh movement of the key.This piece a is in permanent electrical connection with the other poleofthe battery by means of a pin, 2, and mercury-cup 7:, each piece 6having its own separate mercurial connection in the case of an organ, inwhich separate electro magnets have to be excited. \Vhen the platinumpoint I) is brought by the depression of the front and the elevation ofthe rear end of the key in contact with the platinum surface 6* on thepiece 6, the electrical circuit is made, and the current is able to passto the mechanism which it is to operate, which, in the case of an organ,will be usually a train comprising an electro-magnet and one or morepneumatic levers,and when the platinum point Z) is moved from off theplatinum surface 6 onto the insulating-snrfiicet (whether ofivory,glass, or other suitable substance) the circuit is broken and theelectro-magnet or mechair ism of whatever kind controlled by theelectrical current becomes inoperative, and the train which it controlsresumes its normal position.

In many electrically-actuated key-board instruments the circuits are notfully made or broken until the key, piston, or lever controlling thecontact-pieces"hascompleted one-half its stroke, and there is thus lossof time in 0b taining response from the mechanism to which theelectrical impulse is transmitted, and also a delay in releasing thesaid mechanism from its controlling current. Now, by my invention I amenabled to fully complete the con-tact and transmit the current bygiving to the key a movement of it may be only an eighth of an inch inone direction, and to fully break contact by a similarly small range ofmovement in the reverse direction, and this with a key having adefinite, wide, or comparatively large range of movement, and at anyposition of the said key. I11 practice I arrange the contactsurfaces tomake full contact with a movement of the key ofaboutone-sixteenth ofaninch, and to fully break contact with a movement of the key of aboutone-eighth of an inch. I amthus enabled to transmit rapid electricalvibrations by corresponding movements of the key at any positionthereof, extreme or intermediate, or to take full advantage of the widerange of movement of the key, of which musicians will appreciate theimportance, while experiencing none of that sense of drag which is feltin playing electrical organs as hitherto constructed; 1 attain thesenovel results by the use of the sliding or yielding contact-piece e,which readily yields or shifts its position when pressure is applied toit, but which, under the infiuence of a light spring, friction device,or brake of any suitable kind, such as h, remains steady or quiescent inthe position to which it has been moved.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 4, it will be seen that directlythe rear end of the key begins to rise contact between the parts b and eis made, and that immediately after such contact has been fullyestablished the lower part of the notch a in the key a, (which isclothed with felt or other suitable material) will strike against ,theupper bent end 0 of the sliding piece 0, and will carry that piece upwith it during the completion of its stroke, the extent of contactbetween b and 0 remaining unchanged and the contactsurfaces ceasing tomove, the one with respect to the other, so soon as full contact isestablished. There is thus no necessity to employ contact-surfaces oflarge extent. At the conclusion of the full stroke of the key the partswill be in the positions shown in Fig. 3. When pressure on the key isrelaxed the rear end of the key a will descend under the influence ofthe spring Z, and the platinum point I) will at once slide onto theinsulating-surface g, and the circuit will be broken. The upper part ofthe felted notch a in the key a will then engage with the top of thebent end 0 of the sliding contactpiece e, and both contact-pieces willdescend or move together during the completion of the return-movement ofthe key, the circuit remaining broken.

The spring-strut it consists of a doublepointed pin or rod, one end ofwhich engages with a notch or hollow in the sliding piece c, and theother end rests in a depression or hole in a flat vertical springsecured to the back rail or other convenient point of attachment. In itsextreme positions, when the spring is weakest, the inclination of thepointed pin or strut h is greatest, and effectually holds the piece 0steady while the platinum point Z) moves onto or off from the contact orinsulatingsurfaces e and respectively, while, should the key be vibratedinan intermediate position, the strut will be held by the spring at itsgreatest power and with the same practical result. So little pressure onthe piece 0 suffices to hold it steady until directly moved up or downby the key itself that it is possible and desirable to back the metalstrip a, where it touches the back rail, with glass, ivorine, or someother easily-applied and non-corrodible substance, with the view ofinsuring smoothness of action.

The precise construction and arrangement of the yielding or slidingpiece 0 may vary according to the build of the instrument and themechanism with which it is connected.

Thus the piece 6 may be mounted to rock on key may be fixed, as in Fig.6. In this arrangement the spring It holds the yielding contactpiecec,earried by the key a, steady until its platinum point or surface 6 hasmade contact with the contact-surface b, as in the preceding examples,after which, on the further upward movement of the rear end of the keya, the point or pin eflengaging with a projection or shoulder on theterminal piece b, the contact-piece 0 will yield, thus presenting noappreciable resistance to the completion by the key of its full stroke.On releasing the key its rear end will descend, as before, under theinfluence of a spring, (not shown in the drawings) and the contact-piece6 being firmly held by the pressure of the spring h on the arm orsupport by which the said piece is connected to the key, its platinumpoint 0 will first be slid onto the insulatirig-surface g, and then thepoint or pin 0 engaging with the projection or shoulder on the terminalpiece 1) its further movement will be arrested. The key, however, willbe free to complete its return stroke, owing to the yielding of thecontactpiece 0, in precisely the same manner as at ready abovedescribed.

It is obvious that various forms of shoulders, projections, or pins maybe used as stops for the purpose of effecting the shifting of themovable terminal; and also that many wellknown forms of frictionaldevices may be used in lieu of the frictional spring-strut describedherei n for holding the movable terminal steady until contact between itand the fixed terminal has been made or broken.

Although I prefer to connect the wires attach ed to the abovenamedterminal plates with their respective circuits by means of pins dip pinginto mercury, other well-known means might be used for thispurpose.Thus,without intcrferingin any way with the desired range of movement ofthe operating key or lever, I am able to instantly make or break thecircuit during the first part of the movement of the key in onedirection or another, and thereby instantly to start the train ormechanism and allow it ample time for getting to work while the keycompletes its movement, or as instantly to release it and give it timeto reset itself in readiness for the next impulse while the keycompletes its return or reverse move ment.

In no other electrical make-ainl-break device with which I am acquaintedis it possible to make contact at one point or position of the parts andto break contact at another point or different position of the saidparts; but by my invention this is rendered practicable. Such a mode ofcontrolling the making and breaking of electric circuits may be used inconnection with the operating -keys of telegraphic and timesignalingapparatus, in which clockwork and other trains are used, and will alsobe found very valuable for electrically operating pneumatic levers ortrains of levers from a key-board, as it affords the necessary time forthe said levers to collapse or inflate, as the case may be, between theelectrical impulses, and so to be in a position to promptly respond tothe touch of the operator, whereas in apparatus hitherto constructedfol-transmitting electric impulses to such mechanism the contact is bothmade and broken at about the same point in the travel of the lever, theresult, as regards organs, being an appreciable and disagreeable senseof drag to the player in both making and breaking the contact.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the contact sliding piece maybe made doubleacting by causing a pendent contact-lever to swing betweentwo contact-surfaces on the slide, and thereby to complete the circuitat every movement either to the right or to the left.

Having now fully described my invention, what I desire to claim is-' 1.In an electrical circuit in which one terminal is carried by a key, apiston, or an equivalent device, the combination, with such device, of asecond terminal, as e, fitted with an insulator for the first terminalto bear upon, such second terminal being supported by a frictionaldevice and so connected with the key as to receive an endwise motiontherefrom on the rising or depression of the key without following itthrough the whole of its movements. as and for the purpose above setforth.

2. The combination, in an electrical circuit, of two contact-surfaces orterminals, as b 6", arranged so as to be brought together and separatedby means of a key, lever, piston, or other operating device, as a, oneof said terminals, as e being arranged so as to be moved with the keyand also independently thereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an electrical circuit, of two contact-surfaces orterminals, as b 6 arranged so as to be brought together and separated bymeans of a key, lever, piston, or other operating device, as a, one ofsaid terminals, as a", being mounted independently of said key or leverand movable therewith, substantially as described.

4. The combination, in an electrical circuit, of two contact-surfaces orterminals, as b c, arranged so as to be brought together and separatedby means of a key, lever, piston, or other operating device, as a,having a given definite range of movement, one of said terminals, as 6,having a definite range of movement less than the operating device,being mounted independent of said device and movable therewith,substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a key, such as a, of a terminal point orsurface, I), a shifting or yielding terminal point or surface, 6*, andprojections e e", for effecting the shifting or arresting the movementof the yielding terminal to allow the key or lever to continue orcomplete its movement in one direction or the other without altering therelative positions assumed by the said contact-surfaces at thecommencement of the said movement, and pressure springs, such as h, orequivalent means for holding the yielding contact steady on or againstits support while the circuit is being made or broken, as set forth.

6. The combination, with a piston, lever, or key, of apair ofcontact-pieces or terminals, one or both of them movable or yielding, aspring-strut or pressure-pad for holding one or both of the said movablecontact-pieces or terminals steady upon its support until contact isfully made or broken, and shoulders, stops, or studs for effecting theshifting or yielding of the movable contact piece or pieces after suchcontact has been fully made or broken, for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with a key, lever, or piston, as a, located in anelectrical circuit having a given definite range of motion and providedwith and carrying a contact-surface or terminal, I), of a secondcontact-surface or terminal, e, arranged independent of said key orlever and adapted to be moved therewith, substantially as described.

8. The combination, in an electrical circuit, with two contact-surfacesor terminals, b 6 arranged so as to be brought together and separated bya key, lever, or piston, one of which terminals is mounted on said keyand the other independently thereof, of connections between theoperating-key and one of the terminals, as c, whereby the terminals arebrought together to make the circuit in one position of theoperating-key and separated to break the circuit at another position ofsaid key, substantially as described.

VINCENT WILLIS.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY JOHN SNELeRovn,

32 Falkland Road, Kentz'sh Town, N. W.

HERBERT DAVIS,

48 Jtlfort Rd, Highburi, N.

